Former British journalist Ian Bailey, the prime suspect in one of Ireland’s most notorious murders, has died aged 66 near his home in Bantry, Co. Cork. He had a heart attack on Sunday.
Bailey has been in the public eye for almost 30 years as the main suspect in the 1996 murder of French film director Sophie Toscan du Plantier, who was beaten to death near her West Cork holiday home.
Police arrested Bailey twice, but prosecutors did not charge him due to lack of evidence, and the crime remained unsolved, making him the enigmatic protagonist of a cottage industry of true crime books, documentaries, and podcasts.
A French extradition attempt and a European arrest warrant deterred Mr Bailey, who maintained his innocence, from leaving polarized Ireland. Many were convinced of his guilt, while others considered him a victim of injustice.
Frank Buttimer, a lawyer representing Mr Bailey, said: “He has suffered deep and grave injustice at the hands of the Irish state.” “It shaped his life for the past 27 years. It robbed him of any form of normal existence. He became extraordinary because of what happened to him.”
Mr Buttimer said Mr Bailey had been unwell due to a heart condition and suffered a heart attack on the street in Bantry on Sunday afternoon and was pronounced dead at Bantry Hospital after attempts to resuscitate him failed. “Eventually time caught up with him.”
Her lawyer said Ms Bailey separated from her partner two years ago and was unable to visit her sister, her only relative in the UK, for fear of arrest. “I think his death was sad and somewhat lonely. He died as a prisoner of war in Ireland.”
For Toscan du Plantier’s family, the death, which saw Bailey extradited to France and where a court sentenced him to 25 years in prison in absentia for murder in 2019, raised hopes that the police investigation would find justice. disappeared. Jean-Pierre Gazeau, the victim’s uncle, told the Irish Times: “I am concerned that the cold case review team will not complete their work.”
Baillie grew up in Gloucestershire and worked as a freelance journalist in the 1980s, publishing articles for the Sunday Times before moving to West Cork, a haven for bohemian expats, where he worked as a poet and worker. I tried my hand at it.
Her mother, Toscan du Plantier, a 39-year-old film producer, was attacked outside her villa on December 23, 1996. Bailey, who lived nearby, posted a scoop about the incident in a newspaper, and made headlines himself when he was arrested. . Detectives said he had a chance, scratches and a record of domestic violence, but there was no forensic evidence and a witness who said he saw him that night recanted his testimony.
Bailey sued the newspaper for defamation and the state of Ireland for wrongful arrest, alleging that the police had tried to frame him, but lost the case and was unable to move, making a living selling pizza and writing poetry. I had a hard time.
He collaborated on the podcast series West Cork, which spawned a Netflix series, and the Jim Sheridan-produced Sky documentary series Murder at the Cottage.
Mr Bailey told the Guardian in 2019 that poetry, carpentry, meditation and singing had “kept me sane” and he was happy to remain in Ireland. “If possible, I would rather leave in a coffin rather than board a plane handcuffed,” he said.